The invention relates primarily to a procedure for machining one or more wooden articles, in order to proceed from an initial shape to a final shape, wherein:
each wooden article is subjected to a series of successive machining operations,
each machining operation takes place in a machining operation station which contains machining tools, while
during each machining operation the wooden article is held firmly on a clamping bench with the aid of mechanical clamping devices, and
the article is removed from the particular station at the end of each machining operation.
Procedures for machining wood are generally known. Thus, Netherlands Patent No. 104 722 describes a so-called tenoning machine wherein a procedure is carried out with which an article is provided with a projecting tenon in a number of steps.
The steps of the procedure are such that the part of the wooden article which does not form part of the tenon is removed, for example by means of milling, so that finally the wooden article with the tenon shaped by milling remains. Other types of machining which arise in the woodworking industry, such as, for example, for furniture are, for example, cut-down and cut-up milling. These terms signify the shaping, by means of milling, of a recess in or, respectively, relief on the surface of the wooden part, which takes place when shaping arm rests and table and chair legs. Another type of machining can be the sanding of the wooden part. Yet another type of machining can be the shaping of so-called punched or slotted holes. All of these machining operations have up to now been carried out in separately set-up installations, a wooden article being clamped in a first installation and subjected to an initial machining. The wooden article was then removed and clamped in a second installation and machined etc. until after machining in all installations a final shape of the wooden article was achieved. The continual re-clamping of the wooden articles to be machined is extremely time-consuming and certainly uneconomic compared with the machining time per machining operation step. The machining speed of wooden articles is relatively high, i.e. the clamping time per wooden article is approximately the same as the machining operation time. Attempts have been made to increase the time effectivenss by machining several articles at the same time per machining step; however, this method has resulted in little time advantage in view of the fact that a total clamping time is still always expended per wooden part which is approximately equal to the clamping time per machining operation.times.the number of machining operations.